Vincent and the Doctor
My obsession with Van Gogh started during a very specific Doctor Who episode, “Vincent and the Doctor“. For those of you unfamiliar with Doctor Who, it’s a science fiction/fantasy show that’s a lot of fun, has a ton of heart and oftentimes features “wibbly wobbly” time traveling episodes where the main character “the Doctor” visits famous figures throughout history. In “Vincent and the Doctor”, he goes back in time, meets Van Gogh (to save him from an alien, naturally) and then at the very end of the episode, the Doctor takes past Van Gogh to a present day museum to show Van Gogh, not only does his art eventually become valuable but that it’s in one of the most prestigious museums in the world.
As Van Gogh is taking all this in (played beautiful by actor Tony Curran), the art curator begins speaking about Van Gogh (with no idea Van Gogh is in the room, obviously). The art curator describes how much value the artist’s work has by saying, “Van Gogh transformed the pain of his tormented life into ecstatic beauty. Pain is easy to portray, but to use your passion and pain to portray the ecstasy and joy and magnificence of our world, no one had ever done it before. Perhaps no one ever will again.” Cue the tears from both Van Gogh and the audience, of course.
It’s a moment that stuck with me. As an artist and also having friends who are artists, I know all too well that feeling of wondering if anything you’re creating is going to have any impact at all. If you’ll ever make money doing what you love. If anything you’re creating will ever get seen and be valued by anyone other than yourselves. If there’s a point to any of it. And that’s enough to make a lot of people quit or never even try. Yet Van Gogh, as incredibly painful as it was, kept going and the world is all the better for it. Since then, I’ve always had a connection and love of Van Gogh and his work. That’s why when I heard about this “Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit” described as an opportunity to “step inside and experience the incredible post-Impressionist works of Van Gogh like never before”, I knew I had to go and even bought tickets months in advance having no idea what to expect.
As you enter the exhibit, you heard the “voice of Van Gogh” (this time played by actor Colm Feore) sharing some of his most impactful quotes and thoughts on his art, and you begin by watching documentaries regarding moments in his life and walk through a gallery of his paintings including a wall of all his self portraits and multiple versions of sunflowers. I learned so much about the artist including that this mastery of art and vibrant color was colorblind(!). He also started his life wanting to be a pastor and was deeply spiritual. The first few rooms felt like we were getting a peak into his mind, dipping a toe in before the full emersion which happened later on in the experience.
Going Inside Van Gogh’s Paintings
All this leading is the “grand finale”, an entire room filled with floor to ceilings projections, a feat that took 60,600 frames of video, 90,000,000 pixels, and 500,000+ cubic feet of projections that took you through the history of Van Gogh’s life and paintings. From sea creatures that ran across your legs while viewing projections of “Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saint-Maries” to the floating gondolas and dancing stars of the infamous “The Starry Night”, every famous Van Gogh painting was actualized and everywhere you looked a piece of his art decorated the room from floor to ceiling. I felt like I could stay in there for hours. There was something almost peaceful about it, I expected to get overwhelmed by the experience of sensory of so many vibrant colors but somehow the imagery combined with the music was relaxing. Exiting the room felt even a little sad, almost like leaving a wonderland of art where things were more magical, vibrant and hopeful than reality – in some ways, likely the way things looked from Van Gogh’s eyes.
After all this, I was reflecting on the beauty, bravery and talent of Van Gogh as an artist and as a person, I thought about what a shame it is he’s remembered best for “the artist who went crazy and cut off his ear”, which not that it matters but it was part of his ear and he was in a dark spot at the time and suffering from a mental illness that even to this day not many know how to best treat. But the idea that people remember this incredible artist for one of the lowest periods of his life rather than his true love of art, his resilience to continue creating when nobody would buy or even respect his work and his love of God, people, the world and nature. Van Gogh gave us everything and we left him with nothing. He gave us every last bit of his talent, even when it drew him mad, he gave us the depths of his soul and his whole heart in every single brush stroke and the very least we can do is remember him beyond his mental illness and as the true inspirational courageous artist he was.
Remembering Van Gogh
Here are some of my favorite Van Gogh quotes that I think every artist can relate to:
“…and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”
“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?”
“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
“I always think that the best way to know God is to love many things.”
“There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.”
“I put my heart and soul into my work, and I have lost my mind in the process.”
“If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced.”
